Arizona Senate votes to repeal 160-year-old abortion ban that had no exceptions for rape, incest
The Arizona Senate voted Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law that outlawed almost all abortions in the state – and made no exception for cases of rape or incest.
The repeal measure passed 16-14, with two Republicans – state Sens. Shawnna Bolick and TJ Shope – joining all 14 state Senate Democrats in voting to quash the pre-statehood law.
Wednesday’s vote came exactly one week after the Arizona House voted 32-28 to nix the long-dormant law, which the state Supreme Court had ordered officials to enforce last month in light of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The bill now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is expected to sign it.
“After almost a month of Republicans blocking and prolonging Democrats attempts to pass legislation that would repeal Arizona’s total abortion ban that was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court in early April, Senate Democrats forced the repeal to the governor’s desk,” Arizona state Senate Democrats said in a statement.
Democratic state Sen. Anna Hernandez, the repeal bill’s sponsor, called Wednesday’s vote “a step towards ensuring our right to choose and protecting our access to abortion in Arizona” but “not the end.”
“We must continue to fight until our rights are guaranteed in the constitution,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is running to replace independent Kyrsten Sinema in the US Senate, echoed Hernandez’s sentiments.
“This is an important step, but our work isn’t done. Arizona women deserve better,” the congressman wrote on X.
“That’s why we’re going to pass a constitutional right to abortion and defeat anti-abortion extremists like Kari Lake this November,” Gallego added, referring to his GOP opponent.
Lake signaled her opposition to the Civil War-era law last month.
“This total ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are,” Lake said in a video posted on X days after the high court’s ruling.
However, Lake later expressed disappointment that the law was not being enforced by Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes.
“The Arizona Supreme Court said this is the law of Arizona. But unfortunately, the people running our state have said we’re not going to enforce it,” she told the Idaho Dispatch.
Former President Donald Trump also criticized the state Supreme Court’s ruling last month, arguing that the judges went “too far” and predicting that it would get “straightened out … very quickly.”
The centuries-old law was set to go into effect on June 8, and it would have superseded the state’s current 15-week abortion ban.
Abortion rights advocates in Arizona say they have gathered enough signatures to place a ballot measure amending the state constitution on Nov. 5 of this year.
